WASHINGTON, D.C. — The federal EPA is proposing a new rule to redefine “Waters of the United States” (WOTUS) to comply with the 2023 Sackett v. EPA Supreme Court decision and to cut government bureaucracy.
EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin said the proposal keys in on federal jurisdiction over relatively permanent, standing, or continuously flowing bodies of water, including adjacent wetlands connected by a continuous surface connection.
“We developed the proposed rule using input from multiple sources,” Zeldin said in a Monday announcement. “A preproposal recommendation docket, information from nine public listening sessions, and consultation comments from states, tribes, and local governments—we listened, and we acted.”
U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito praised the move.
“This proposal takes an important step toward providing a clear and legally-sound framework that aligns with the Supreme Court’s Sackett decision and right-sizes federal jurisdiction,” Capito said. “I appreciate the Trump EPA’s effort to take public input in developing this proposal, including by holding a listening session in Charleston to allow West Virginians the opportunity to share their perspectives.”
Gov. Patrick Morrisey, as then state Attorney General, led a coalition of 24 states in a letter to Congress explaining the experiences and problems experienced related to the implementation of the U.S. EPA WOTUS conformed rule. Morrissey said the rule has created confusion and has put negative pressure on economic development.
“And potentially subject them to significant penalties of up to $37,500 per day,” Morrisey said. “It was a huge problem.”
In his remarks, Zeldin said they drafted the rule with the future in mind so it would survive future elections and changes at the top of the agency. The definition of WOTUS has been debated, litigated, and even changed at the request of an incoming administration. Zeldin said this rule is reasonable and durable to create certainty for decades to come.
“This wasn’t about taking a pendulum and swinging it as far as you can up against another edge; it’s about getting it right,” Zeldin said. “And I think our farmers, ranchers, and landowners absolutely deserve it.”
In addition to the fines Morrissey talked about, he also pointed to the heavy-handed way previous administrations interpreted the rule. The red tape creates delays for proposed expansion projects to the point some investors just back away.
“It was a textbook example of federal overreach, and in West Virginia and across the country we were all animated by what the Obama and Biden administrations tried to do,” said Morrisey.
During his comments Morrissey told the group that “if there was one state in the nation that felt the regulatory burdens of the Democrat party, it has been West Virginia.”
“This administration is engaging with states, localities, industry, and consumers across the board every step of the way,” Morrisey said.